Generally, aspects of the disclosure relate to the drilling of geological formations. More specifically, aspects relate to methods and apparatus for automatic detection of in-slips and on-bottom status for drill strings.
Drilling of geotechnical stratum can be a difficult undertaking under certain conditions. As is well known, geotechnical stratum can range from clay stratum to rock formations and, as a result, a large amount of variability is present during drilling operations. The large amounts of variability in sub-surface stratum pose risks for drill rig operators. These risks include worker safety risks from breaking equipment to financial risks for missing target objectives during drilling. Operators are constantly looking to mitigate such risks to obtain better return on investment and increase worker safety.
To minimize these risks, operators attempt to monitor down-hole conditions to predict what is occurring while drilling. For example, operators monitor hookload thresholds and use these thresholds to determine when sections of drill pipe are inserted into the drill string. Operators manually program computer equipment to create breakpoints to allow operators to keep track of “in-slips” conditions of drill string components while drilling. Manual input of data is time consuming and allows for the possibility of human error.